My 2017 Spring Training TTM List

Last season, I introduced my son to the joys of collecting autographs Through The Mail (TTM). We got a bit of a late start though, not sending out our first batch until early May. We hit the Major Leaguers hard with mixed results. We got a few big names like Adrian Beltre and Todd Frazier. We also got a few front office folks like Dan Duquette (Orioles GM), Larry Luchino (Red Sox), and Dave Dombrowski (Red Sox). We even got the commissioner of baseball, Rob Manfred. Most of our returns came from minor leaguers (which is cool with me!). We got amazing responses from the Daytona Tortugas, Cedar Rapids Kernals, and the Fort Wayne Tin Caps.

Overall, we did pretty well with the total number of autos we got back but I couldn’t help feeling like we missed out by not starting earlier. Spring Training has the reputation as being a great time to get autos. It makes sense, players are more laid back and have more time so they sign more. Now, I’ve never tried sending out letters to Spring Training so I don’t know if it’s true or not. Either way, we were not going to miss out this season.

I sent out our last batch this morning. Here is the complete list, when they went out, and how many cards went to each…

That’s it! My list of the 92 TTM letters that we sent out. I went for some of the big names too. Why not? For the cost of two stamps, two envelopes, and two cards it’s worth it… you never know. Obviously, I’m not expecting replies from them all but that’s what makes it such a fun hobby. There is always a chance.

So right now, we are done. No more Spring Training letters. Maybe a few will go out to some retired players. But for now, I need to rest my poor hand and restock my stamp supply because it won’t be long before the minor league sets start shipping.